Saturday, August 09, 2008

R

REACHING

Dear God, help me always to reach. If I am not always destined to attain, let my destiny be to always be reaching.

I want to always feel unsettled, because I don't want to settle for anything. A friend once told me, “You're kind of a cake-and-eat-it-too guy.” It's true, and this can be a source of frustration for me and for my friends when it keeps me from acting. I inwardly whine and outwardly do nothing. I'm often not quite content with the way things are, or the way they are expected to be, or the way things usually are. But I'm coming to accept this about myself.

My friend also told me there's nothing wrong with being a cake-and-eat-it-too kind of guy. After all, cake was made to be eaten. Somewhere in this, there is an important aspect of who I've been made to be. God put it there, and he put it there with specific purpose in mind. The task I've been given in this life will not be attained if I am not programmed to be reaching, to not be satisfied, and in all that to be facing new fears. God knows I won't run out of fears to conquer before I die. I'll just keep uncovering new ones.

And perhaps when I reach heaven, I'll have some cake and eat it.

But I want to always be reaching. I think it's the only way that I can be truly alive. If I felt I've attained it (whatever “it” is), then I'll be going nowhere, and I'll lose it. I want always to have enough longing that I never stop walking, and enough peace that I enjoy where I am.

So God, just help me to long for the right things: For justice. For mercy. For love.

Most of all, Dear God, let me long for your Heart. It's all that I want to reach.

10 comments:

Chris Whitler said...

“Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?”
-Robert Browning

Sustar said...

"ask not what your country can do do for you, ask what you can do for your country"
-Captain Crunch

Sustar said...

"That's a shame"
-Marine Car

JD said...

The glory of God is man fully alive - Saint Irenaeus

We were made for glory - and our hearts were made to long for it.

Mary said...

Sometimes I wish my heart would reach as easily for God as my hand reaches for another beer-

Anonymous said...

"These are among the best blog comments around the Interneck lately"...
- Shankar & Mauser

Beth said...

Shankar & Mauser!!? I haven't seen any sign of those guys in ages!

Sustar said...

What the hell's going on?
-Reaching

Karina said...

Reaching is good. (Love the Browning quote in the above comments.)

A friend shared this with me today. After reading your post, I thought I'd share with you.

Once you know what it takes to live a better story, you don't have a choice. Not living a better story would be like deciding to die, and it's not natural to want to die.
~Donald Miller

Miller wrote 'Blue like Jazz' and some book about writing your own story. It's next on my 'to read' list. Anyways, once again, you put into words what was going around my head which is exactly what great writers do.

God bless.

Your Friend Aaron said...

I'm glad one of the above comments was not completely stupid.

And that new Miller book is a good one. You'll like it.

Thanks again.